Automobile torpedo.



" A E. JONES.

AUTOMOBILE TORPEDO. 7 APPLICATION FILED DEC 22, 1910. v

996,412,- Patented 11111927, 1911.

WITNESSES 7 I \NVENTOR f 15v r ATToRMEYs I NberT EdwardJone;

T D STATES PATENT OFFICE. 1'

ALBEBAl'EIlWARD JONES, F FIUME, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, ASSIGNOR T0 WHITEHEAD ;A N D COMPANY, OF FIUME, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, A CORPORATION.

To iall whomit r fidifconcem:

Be it known that I, ALBERT EDWARD Jones, a subject of .the.King of Great Britain, and resident of Via Volosca No. 2, :F1ume', AustnasI-Iungary, have invented certain new and-useful Improvementsin and Relating. to Automobile Torpedoes, of which the following is a full and complete descrip- 171011.. a,

vention thas for its object. a pereizss'ion mechanism or. pistol for automobile torpedoes. It aims more particularly at permitting of therelease of the striker no matter at what. angle the torpedo strikes its 1'5,@1mark -,while .at nthe saline time avoiding any incorrect,operationjand .the cocking of the .'f meshing striker before and during firing and so long as .thetorpedoI is in proximity to the vessel from which it is launched.

The.ginventionis-illnstrated' in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows the device in longitudinal section, Fig.2 is across section on the line 2-2'i in. Fig. Fig. 3 is across section on The shaft a which carries the propeller I; intended for cooking the striker in the knownniannen instead of being located in the longitudinal axis of the torpedo is located outside'this axis'and guided in a sleeve 0 which-is preferably tangential to the torpedoatthe origin of the ogive. The shaft a 1s coupled by. means ofan appropriate joint d with'the shaft '6 ending in an endless screw with a worm wheel 9 which operates-the'striker'hu"- The safetyxpinji instead of being, as heretoforearranged in'front of the propeller b, passes through the shaft 6 at its part 6' in passing through the box 7' of thestriker and lodges in an inner socket is in this box.

Theparteof the'shaft e is threaded at'm for the reception of 'a' sleeve 11/ formed with a longitudinal groove 0 in which a screw 22 ages-" The ercussion mechanism proper comprises tl fe usualeartridge'g, the detonator r,

' the cap" sand the striker 1; movable in a tube at v arrangedlinside the box j, of the apparatus, located outsi e: th longitudinal axis of" the 'torpedo'preferably at the originofthe, o 'vegjfl liestriker'hfends 'in a screw thread; e head a .anda pointy"). screwed into a I pisI- tonj' jmlwhichlis able to-slide butno't to rotate in thetube t. 'This' striker which is square AUTOMOBILE TORPEDO.

vSpecificetion of IettersPatent- Patented June 27, 1911. Application filed December 22, 1910. Serial No. 598,698.

in cross section, carries above a nut 3 which is screwed onto a threaded portion .2 of the tube t and-it engages in the hub of the worm wheel 9 meshing with the endless screw f in which the shaft ae of the propeller 7) ends; this shaft can be locked by means of the safety pin 71. Betwpen the nut 3 and the piston 00 a spring 4 isfanterposed. The pis-" ton w bears upon the tooth 5' of a lever-6 which is provided with a fixed'pivot 7 and is itself connected with a two armed. lever S with fixed pivot 9. A pendulum 10 is suspended from the end of the lever 8 by the intermediary of therod 11 which is itself connected by a universal joint or thelike 12 to a rod 13 pivoted at 1 1 to the bottom of the box j. Upon the pivot 7 a lever 15 is also pivoted; this lever ends on the one hand in a tooth 16 projecting into the tube t and on the other hand in a ring 17 which embraces a shoulder 18on the pendulum 10. A compression spring 19.connects the levers 8 and 15.

The operation is as followsrWhen the torpedo introduced'into its tube the"'pin i is in place and locks the shaft al' in thf position represented in Fig. '2 inju-liic'h the inner wall 20 of thelaunchin'gtube 21 constitutes an obstacle to the rotation of the propeller. \Vhen the propeller has been in troduced into the tube, the safety pin 1' is withdrawn and the arrangement-of thetorpedo in position is completed. During the travel of the torpedo, the propeller b is 1'0- tated together with the shafts a, c and 6 with which it is connected, thereby rotating the pinion g which cocks the striker It.-

In the mechanism the parts occupy normally the position shown in Fig. 1, that is to say the spring 4 is neither extended nor compressed, the point '0 of the striker h is lo cated inside the piston 00, the piston m is supported by the tooth 5 of the lever (3 and finally the ring 17 of the lever, 15 embraces the shoulder 18 of the pendulum 10 and; looks it. In theseconditions, if for any rea son the tooth 5 sl10uld release the piston w the percussion pointv w is nevertheless quite,

unable to strikethe cap a. Thenthetor pedo isftraveling (the safety pin having necessarily been removed) by means of shaft aeand the. endlessscrew f thepropellerib rotates the worm wheel. 9 whichimi parts amovement of rotation to the striker 'h. Owing to this movement the head it is screw'edinto the piston :0 so as to cause-the pro]ect1on of the point 0 and simultaneously thenut y is screwed downward in the thread 2 so as to compress the sprlng 4 and cock sion can rock in every direction exerts trac-' tion upon its supports and connections 11 and 13 and consequently depresses the end of the lever 8which rocks the lever 6 and releases the tooth 5 of the piston m which becomes free and is at once depressed carrying with it the striker h the point r of which I strikes the cap 8. I

The firing mechanism can be rendered more or less sensitive by modifying the strength of the spring 19. The'advantages are as follows :,The torpedo cannot be introduced into the launching tubeunti-l the safetypin i has been removed,

in such a manner that the propeller b cannot remain locked during the travel of the torpedo and will efliciently fulfil its purpose which consists in cocking the striker.

' The propeller b is unable to rotate while the torpedo is in the launching tube" 21 because (see Fig'. '2) its blades are stopped by the inner wall of the said tube. Consequently the striker cannot become prematurely cocked. The device also prevents the striker from becomin cooked by unauthorized persons by withc rawing the safety pin 2' from its housing, by rotating the propeller .b by

hand so as to cook the striker and then replacing the pin 6 so that apparently the torpedo resents "all the conditions of safety while in reality it could be exploded by the first shock. In point of fact if the pin 1' is withdrawn from its housing and the propeller b be rotated, the sleeve n arranged upon the shaft e advances and its end a obturates the entrance of the pin which cannot then be placed. It is therefore neces sary, in order to replace the pin i, to uncock the striker. As the propeller and the striker are no longer located at the point of the torpedo the explosive charge can be continued as far as this point, in such a manner that it is in more direct contact with the mark. Owing to this same arrangement it is also possible to increase the usual length of the torpedo and consequently to increase either the volume of the charge or the capacity of the air reservoir. As the motor member 10 which is assimilable to the trigger of'a pistol is constituted by a pendulum leastsh ock against the torpedo no matter at what angle this tor edo strikes its target. The mechanism there ore becomes'absolutely independent of contact between the propeller b and the target which is the case with the direct contact strikers arranged in the axis and at the point of the torpedo. In addition the device resents all the necessary qualities of sa ety during operation and of firing the torpedo.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. Ina percussion mechanism for automobile torpedoes, a cylinder, a piston mov-j able in the cylinder, a striker screwing into the piston, a lever provided with a tooth engaging the piston to hold the striker in cocked position, a second lever connected with the first lever, a pendulum suspended from the second lever, a third lever engag-- in the pendulum and cyinder to be operated a spring connecting the second andthird levers whereby the striker will be released when the torpedo strikes an obstacle no projecting into the matter at what angle the torpedo strikes said obstacle.

2.- In a percussion mechanism for automobile torpedoes, a piston, a striker having a point normally within the piston, and a lever provided with a tooth engaging the piston to support the same, .whereby thepoint of the striker will be prevented from strikin the cap if it should be accidentally released. y

3. In a percussion mechanism for auto mobile torpedoes, a cylinder, a piston movable in the cylinder, a striker screwing into the piston, alever cocked, a second lever connected with the first lever, a pendulum suspended from the.

position, a second lever connected with the first lever, a pendulum suspended from the second lever, a third lever operatively conprovided with a tooth en a 'n the iston to hold the striker g g1 12 P nected with the second lever and engaging the pendulum to normally hbld it stationary, said third lever being provided wlth a tooth projecting into the cylinder, means 90 the striker, and

' charging of the torpedo.

(3. In a percussion mechanism for automobile torpedoes, a striker, a propeller, a. propeller shaft for cocking the striker, sald propeller shaft extending into the launching tube and arranged outside of the longitudinal axis of the torpedo, and a safety pin engaging the rear part of the propeller shaft, whereby the removal of the safety pin. will be necessary before'completing the loading. t

7. In a percussion mechanism for automobile torpedoes the combination. of the striker with a propeller shaft for cocking the striker, said propeller shaft being arranged outside the longitudinal axis of the torptalo, a safety pin arranged on the rear part of the propeller shaft, a movable but non-rotati\'e' sleeve on the propeller shaft close to the hole for the safety pin, a screw thread in the sleeve engaging with a screw thread on the shaft and a pin 7) in the easing of the mechanism engaging a groove 0 in the sleeve.

8. In a percussion mechanism for automobile torpedoes, the -eombinati0n of a striker, a lever mechanism for holding the striker in its cocked position, a pendulum for releasing the striker, means for holding and releasing the pendulum, means for marking the striker, and safety means for preventing undue cocking of the striker, substantially as set. forth.

9. In a percussion mechanism fol-torpedoes, a striker, means for, holding the striker in cocked position, a pendulum for,

operating the holding means to release the striker, and means controlled by the striker for holding the pendulum normally stationary. I a

10. In a percussion mechanism for torpedoes, a striker, means for cocking the striker, means for holding the striker in' cocked position, a pendulum for operating? the holding means to release the striker, means for holding the pendulum normally stationary, and means, whereb the ndirlum will be released when t e striker is cocked.

11. In a percussion mechanism, for tor; pedoes, a cylinder, a piston free to slide but not to turn in'the cylinder, a striker carried by the piston, means for cocking the striker, means engaging the piston to hold the striker cocked, a pendulum for-operating the holding means to release the striker, means for normally holding the pendulum stationary, and a member carried by the striker and operating the means which holds the pendulum to release the same when the striker has been moved to cocked position. v

12. In a percussion mechanism for torpedoes, a cylinder, a piston free to slide but not to turn in the cylinder, a striker screwing into the piston, a nut on the striker and in threaded engagement with the cylinder, a spring surrounding the striker between the nut'and piston, means for turning the striker, whereby it will be cooked, and means for holding the striker cocked.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto placed my hand at Fiume, Austria-Hungary thissi xth day of December 1910.

ALBERT EDWARD JONES. V

In the presence of two witnesses:

' A'r'rimo J. CLEMENTI, J osrrn AUGURELIN. 

